Improved evaporator



IINTTED STATES TOWER THOMASSON,

PATENT @Eric-E..

OF NEOGA, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVED EvAPoRATo R.'

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TOWER THoMAssoN, of Neoga, Cumberland county, and State otl Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Evaporators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,lclear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part ofthis specification.

The object ot' this invention is to prevent the mixing ot' green or .crude sap with partiallycooked sirup in the evaporator-pans, which, as is well known, is one ofthe mostfrequent causes of burning and ofthe coarse avor peculiar to sorgo, thus making the evaporation of the cane-juices a very tedious, unsatisfactory, and expensive operation.

This great objection to the universal cultivation of sorghum, imphee, and other canesis entirely obviated by my improved train of cvaporating-pans, which are simple in their arrangement, cheap of construction, and can be operated much more rapidly that the customary fixed pans.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal section through an evaporator provided with my train of pans. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of three of my pans, showing the mode of connecting them; and Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken at the line X X of Fig.1.

A represents the furnace, constructed either of masonry or sheet metal, as may be most desirable, and provided with. customary lire-door B, grate U, and smoke-pipe D.

Firmly secured in the side walls of the furnace, and a little below the top of the same, are metallic bars E E', which I term thefrailway, 7 and said railway is parallel with the top of the furnace-walls.

In the place of a number ot pans permanently attached to the furnace, I provide a train of pans, F F F Ff F, whose length corresponds to the width of the furnace, while the width and depth of said pans may be of any desired dimensions.

The ends G G of my pans are constructed of stout plank, as are also the upper portions, H H', of the sides, while the remaining or lower portions of the sides, I I', and also the bottoms K, are composed ot' sheet metal.

Projecting downward from and firmly attached -to each end of the pans are lia-ngeplates L, which, bearing against the side walls ot' the furnace, serve to retain the pans in a proper position. and also prevent lire and smoke from escaping under the ends of said pans.

Each end` G G of the pans F F', Sto., is provided with pockets m mf, for the reception of a handle, M, by which the pans are moved from place to place, and finally lifted oft' from thefurnace. BymakingtheliandlesMdctachable a single pair will suffice for any number of pans, but if preferred the handles may be permanently attached to each pan.

Secured to each end ot' the pans F F', &c., are two brackets, a n', aftbrdingjournal-bearings for the wheels or rollers N, which run upon the railway E E', and thereby compel said railway to sustain the entire weight of the pans and their contents.

The ends of the pans are provided near their tops with a hook, O, and staple P, by which said pans are connected and uncoupled in a moment. That portion of the hook O which engages with the staple P enters said staple at a suitable angle in order that it may draw the two contiguous pans closer together as the hook is driven farther into the staple.

The .rear end of the furnace is provided with a slab or casting, S, which I call the receiving-platform,77 and said platform is somewhat longer than any ofthe pans F are wide.

Operation The pans FF &c., are arranged on the furnace A, as shown in Fig. l, the tjrst while the last pan, F, is over the receivingplatform S, and the latter pan is supplied with green juice from a suitable tank. The pan Fbeing subjected to the most intense heat of the fire, the sirup contained in it is the first to become thoroughly cooked, and therefore it is the first to be removed from the furnace. To ei'ect this purpose the operators proceed to link the hindmost pan, Fm', to the pan immediately in front of it, and then to draw forward the entire train of pans until the second pan is made to take the place of the first pan,

which is then disconnected from the train and lifted from the furnace. Or it may be done bythe operators disconnecting the hook Ofrom the staple P, taking hold of the handles M, and then drawing the pan along on the railway E E', toward the front end of the furnace, until it clears the latter, when the pan is lowered pan, F, being placed immediately over the fire,

to the ground, and the operators proceed at` once to move the other pans forward to their proper positions. The rear pan,F/, is at once connected to the last pan, F, ofthe train, and then the entire train is immediately moved forward un til it again covers the entire furnace, the pan Fl being thus brought forward to the hottest part of said furnace.

This uncoupling of the first pan, F, from the other pans, the removing of said pan from the furnace, the connecting of the last pan, F", and the re-covering of the furnace with the pans is the work ot' a few minutes.

rI`he rear pan, F, having been connected to the train, andhavin g been moved forward with said train until it occupies the previous position of the pan Ff, an extra pan is now placed over the receiving-platform S, and is filled while in that position.

This operation ot' removing the front pan, connecting the rear pan, and moving the eli- .tire train forward on the railways E E', is continued until the entire quantity of sirup has been evaporated.

It will be perceived that each batch of sap is cooked in its proper pan without interminglin g withthe scum and other crudities of the more uncooked portions.

The pans being constructed as described,

with wooden ends Gr G and the u i ver halves H H', ot' their sides also being ot' wood, they are thus maintained in their proper shape and cannot be twisted and sprung by the action of the heat.

This mode of forming the pans insures a close joint when two pans are connected, thereby preventing the escape of re and smoke between them.

The entire bottom K and also the lower halves of the sides of thepans being composed of sheet metal, the sides of the pans are not liable to be burned, and the pans are also as light and portable as is consistent with the proper stiffness.

Ofthe many advantages which myimproved pan possesses over those now in use the following may be enumerated.

First, its freedom from scorching the sirup, as the juice which is contained in one pan is separate and distinct from that contained in either of the others, and there is no necessity for adding green juice while the boiling process is being conducted, thus making the boiling process a continuous operation in each separate pan.

Another advantage consists in the fact that the pans are so light and portable that they can be readily removed from the furnace, either to empty them of their cooked contents or for the purpose ot' cleansing them, and without interfering with any of the other pans or without drawing the tire from the furnace.

My pans can be manufactured at a mere nominal cost, and they are so simple in their construction that any country wagon-maker or carpenter can make them.

I claim herein as new and of my invention- 1. The provision, in an evaporating apparatus, of a train ot' portable and separate pans, F F F" F Fm', or their equivalents, adapted to be linked together and to be used in connection with the railway E E', substantially as described land set forth.

2. The evaporating-pan F, when constructed with wooden ends G G', metallic bottom K, and partially wooden and metallic sides H H and I I', in the manner described.

3. The hooks O and staples I?, or devices substantially equivalen t, for connecting a train ot' evaporator-pans. Y

4. In combination with the elements of the rst and second claim, the receiving-platfbrm S, for the purpose described.

In testimony of which invention I hereunto set my hand.

TOWER 'rHoMAsson Witnesses Guo. H. KNIGHT, J AMES H. LAYMAN. 

